Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Talk: “The Oilers have some serious question marks on defence.” – Daniel Nugent-Bowman

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

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Edmonton Sun (Rob Tychkowski)

Edmonton Oilers star players pushed hard to get Barrie back
  • There are plenty armchair general managers on social media who crunched the numbers and didn’t really see any value in re-signing Tyson Barrie, but the perspective from inside the dressing room was much, much different.
  • Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, the guys who know better than anyone else what the Edmonton Oilers need and what Barrie brings, pushed hard to get him back.
    • “They were all reaching out and asking if I was staying,” said Barrie
    • “We like Edmonton. It’s a good fit. It’s a joy to come to the rink. It’s a good culture.”
  • He was the first Oilers player to lead NHL defencemen in scoring since Paul Coffey and fit in seamlessly on the best power play in the league.
  • He adds defenceman Cody Ceci, a former teammate in Toronto who signed a four-year deal for $3.5 million a year, is going to be a big addition to that crew.
    • “He’s good in the room and he’s a great player. He’s a guy you put out in important situations to shut the other team down. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s a great penalty killer. He’s going to be great and the boys are going to love him.”

BLH’s Thoughts: The group inside that locker room is finally producing a culture of winning and a “family” is beginning to develop. How long have we been waiting for that? Players that don’t want to be there (for whatever reason) are being moved along and players who want to be there are being brought in. It’s a great thing! 

Does anybody else find it a little bit funny that the Oilers are bringing in these guys who couldn’t wait to get out of Toronto? It’s not happening the other way at all, is it?Watch Hyman and Ceci have outstanding seasons alongside another former teammate from T.O., Tyson Barrie.

I’ve heard that Connor McDavid has been quite involved in the team building process this summer. Ken Holland has been bouncing a lot of ideas off of him. Are we seeing the next Steve Yzerman being developed as we speak?

The Athletic (Daniel Nugent-Bowman)

Ethan Bear out, Cody Ceci in, Tyson Barrie stays: Oilers defensive shakeup continues, but are they improving?

  • Losing Adam Larsson to the Seattle Kraken has had a massive impact on the Oilers’ defence, completely altering the blueprint for construction, especially on the right side.
  • Though Barrie had a tremendously productive offensive season from the back end, leading all NHL defencemen in scoring, he was aided by piling up secondary assists and quarterbacking the league’s best power play. Oilers management wasn’t seriously contemplating his return.

BLH’s Thoughts: I think you really have to have it in for a guy when you start digging into how many secondary assists he had in a year where he lead the league in scoring for his position… Oscar Klefbom ran a very good powerplay too but he never put up the kind of production Barrie did last year. Why shit all over a guy’s elite skillset like this? Since when did it become a bad thing to help your team score and be a constant threat on the ice? The answer is, it’s never been a bad thing but some people have to find something to latch onto in order to have their feelings justified… 

  • Bear had fallen down the depth chart, mostly on the third pair, and saw his ice time slashed by four minutes per game. Part of the reason for that was he lost his spot next to Darnell Nurse.

BLH’s Thoughts: Why did he lose his spot? Was it because he came to camp unprepared? One would think that it would be very difficult to lose their spot on the top pairing after having such a good season with Darnell Nurse, no? 

  • Nurse’s underlying numbers were worse without Bear by his side, and Bear still managed a 51.3 percent expected-goals rate when paired with depth blueliners Kris Russell or Caleb Jones. 

BLH’s Thoughts: Do you know what Bear’s Corsi, Fenwick, Shots For, and Goals For percentages were without Nurse? Worse. So the tangible numbers instead of the “expected” ones cratered when Bear was without Edmonton’s no.1 defenseman, so let’s not try to create some narrative that doesn’t exist.

The truth is, they were better together than apart according to Natural Stat Trick. So why not just say that instead of trying to paint some other picture?

  • What made the Oilers feel they needed to move on from Bear is unclear. He has mostly shown he can handle tough assignments in his young career and is on a cheap, team-controlled contract.

BLH’s Thoughts: There’s a little bit of speculation as to why Bear was moved here. But as for the hockey reasons:

  • The Oilers don’t need a defenseman in their top-four who “mostly” shows that he can handle tough assignments, no matter how cheap or team-controlled. They need one that can handle ALL of the tough assignments. 
  • There were also concerns about his consistency, his skating, his conditioning, his off-ice training habits, and the leadership core of the team made it known that they wanted Tyson Barrie to return.
  • There was always going to be a decision that had to be made between Evan Bouchard and Bear. 

When Adam Larsson left, that was the moment the clock started ticking on Bear’s future as an Edmonton Oiler because Tyson Barrie was always plan B if Larsson signed elsewhere and unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who you ask) for Ethan, that meant Holland would need to find a replacement for the Swede and he wasn’t it.

  • He (Ceci) played most of his minutes, 38 percent, against depth competition in 2020-21. He managed a 51.9 Corsi for percentage against that quality of opposition. Against middle-type opponents, it was 44.8, and against top competition, it was 47.4. He started 52.3 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, too.
  • A reliable industry source said the team planned to have Nurse and Bear reunited on the top pair next season — until Larsson left Edmonton.
  • Before Wednesday moves — and certainly after them — the Oilers have some serious question marks on defence. Nurse, who could sign a contract extension as early as Wednesday, is the only blueliner assured of returning who inspires unequivocal confidence.

BLH’s Thoughts: DNB’s tone has certainly changed since he had that run-in with Ken Holland during the media avail after Duncan Keith was acquired… I’m curious to see how this plays out. 

But back to the hockey for a second, the Oilers have lost TWO top-4 defenders for nothing in the last two years in Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson. I think it’s extremely fair to say that Ken Holland has done a fantastic job of navigating those waters considering what he’s had to work with. He’s added THREE top-four defenders in not even one month and there are fans out there who want him fired… Unbelievable the amount of entitlement and straight up ignorance there is amongst this fanbase. It’s baffling, it really is. 

WARNING *Possible Regretful Rant Ahead. No Disrespect Intended* WARNING

Now, there will be some folks on Twitter who will wave around WAR charts that show Keith, Barrie, and Ceci as bottom pairing defenders and to that I say f*ck your metrics. Those algorithms are making some people believe that Ethan Bear was somehow better than Jeff Petry.

I mean, you really have to have no confidence in your ability to judge a hockey player when you start parroting that rhetoric publicly.

Bear’s a 3rd pairing defender! He was one on Edmonton last year and he’s going to be one on Carolina next season but you won’t hear a god damned peep out of “those fans” in 2021-22 about how he’s being deployed by Rod Brind’Amour because they’ll be too busy building up their case to fire Ken Holland because their charts validate their hurt feelings. 

My advice, NEVER. FALL. IN. LOVE. WITH. A. PLAYER. ON. YOUR. FAVORITE. TEAM.

Oilersnation (Robin Brownlee)

The Early Bird
  • The acquisition of Hyman fills a need in the top six. Namely, Hyman is a player who looks capable of being a complement to Connor McDavid on the left side or as a second-line LW. He goes to the net. He bangs some. He scores some. Pundits who have had eyes on Hyman talk about a player whose value exceeds what you get just looking at the boxcars. 
  • Given how prolific Barrie was last season with 8-40-48 in 56 games, the term and the money is a home run for Holland.
  • The main concern by many is keeping Barrie will stunt the progress of 21-year-old Evan Bouchard. That used to be called depth, but I understand the sentiment and the hopes fans have for Bouchard.

BLH’s Thoughts: With regards to Barrie stunting the progress of Evan Bouchard, I think we should take it easy on that front a bit. Bouch isn’t even 22 years old yet and he’s being crowned king of the PP already. Do you think there’s a chance that Holland and Tippett might want this guy to work on his overall game before being jettisoned to the club’s top PP? 

My feeling is that the Oilers are going to want at least two of the RHD contributing to the PK and I don’t see Tyson Barrie being one of them. So that means Bouchard will get that task and it’ll be a role he embraces and excels at. I have full confidence in him because he’s a genius on the ice, his vision is elite, he’s got a large frame, and throughout his playing career from junior to minor pro, he’s been his club’s no.1 dman at some point and those guys play on the penalty kill. 

NHLRumors.com

Bob McKenzie: Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is a free agent and would like to play next season. He is still waiting for medical clearance so he won’t be signing anywhere right away.

Michael Russo: “AS of right this moment (and things change all the time), but I’m hearing the #mnwild are backing out of Jack Eichel trade talks with the #sabres. Asset price/cost too much for Minnesota to stomach/make work”

Darren Dreger: “It’s believed the Oilers offered Toronto two draft picks, including one in the first 5 rounds as compensation for a potential sign and trade. However, the Maple Leafs obviously declined.”

John Vogl: “The Sabres certainly have the cap space and need to be a middleman and help the Penguins fit Fleury. They could eat part of Fleury’s salary while picking up Tristan Jarry or Casey DeSmith as a stopgap in goal. Reminder: The Sabres have zero goalies.”

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Holland Chose Team Over Individual in Bear Trade

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

Give us a follow on the socials!

Edmonton Sun (Terry Jones)

JONES: Oilers definitely got better in free agency, but is it enough?
  • Are the Oilers now better? Yes. Absolutely. Definitely. Good enough to go for it? Maybe. Possibly. Maybe even probably. But not absolutely. And definitely not definitely.
  • It’ll take 82 games and at least a month into the playoffs to prove it. But you have to give Holland credit. While he managed to make many Edmonton fans furious with the decision to trade an exceptionally popular player and First Nations role model, Ethan Bear, he had a pretty good day.
  • And despite the loss of Adam Larsson to expansion Seattle and the trade of Bear, with the addition of Keith, the semi-surprising return of Tyson Barrie and acquisition of Codi Ceci gives them a chance to be better than they projected to be.
  • On defence, Darnell Nurse, Duncan Keith, Barrie and Ceci are your top four and Evan Bouchard is obviously ticketed to become a regular. There are question marks in there.
  • And in there was the reason he traded Bear. Bouchard is projected to be better than Bear.
    • “We had one too many right-shot defencemen and I turned one into a forward,” said Holland. “It’s hard to trade people because you know them as people. Ethan is a great young man. But I also have an obligation and a responsibility to make moves to make the team better.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I think that it’s fair to say that there are concerns regarding Edmonton’s defense. 

My feeling is that Duncan Keith will be better with the Oilers than he was with the Blackhawks these past few seasons. Scaling down his minutes overall should allow him to maintain a high level of play and I predict that in close games, it will be him and Darnell Nurse getting the TOI at the end of those matches. 

With Ceci, It’s unfair to expect him to be a clone of Adam Larsson. He’s not that guy, but he’s very solid, he moves the puck well, is smart, and I believe he’ll be a reliable 2nd pair defender. Will he have better metrics than Ethan Bear? No. Bear’s going to be playing on the 3rd pair in Carolina and almost all of the players on that team do well analytically. Their system really rewards the players in this regard, but conversely, the Ottawa and Toronto days are behind him. 

Tyson Barrie, I’m not worried one iota about him. He’ll do what he does best, produce points alongside Darnell Nurse. 

Personally, I think it will be fine but at the same time I’m expecting some hiccups. The second pair is brand new and reckon the 3rd pair will be new as well with Evan Bouchard starting his FT NHL career as well as another acquisition by Ken Holland to address the lack of ill will on Edmonton’s back-end. 

My preference would be for Holland to grab another RHD in case of emergency should one of Barrie, Ceci, or Bouchard go down. I know Kris Russell can play the right side, but I would just feel a lot better having one righty and one lefty defenseman available at a moment’s notice. Maybe somebody like, Dylan McIlrath who you could send to the AHL if need be, but would be a serviceable extra man in the NHL from time to time. 

It should be said that we, as fans, need to be prepared for one or two of these moves to fall flat on their faces though. Every season, as much as we don’t want it to, somebody fails to live up to expectations. That being said, we need to continue to be beacons of positivity and supportive supporters to the team so that we can help the players overcome any bouts of adversity. 

Edmonton Sun (Derek Van Diest)

Oilers trade Ethan Bear to bring in depth forward Warren Foegele
  • Holland traded Bear to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for left-winger Warren Foegele, adding size, speed and scoring depth to his bottom two lines.
    • “I got a call (Tuesday) on Cody Ceci and that he wanted to come play here in Edmonton.”
    • “I did a lot of checking, he played very well in Pittsburgh last year; he’s 27 years of age. I did the deal and then once I made the decision to sign Cody and re-sign Tyson, having Evan Bouchard and Ethan Bear, I didn’t want to go with four right-shot defencemen; last year we weren’t able to get enough ice time for Evan Bouchard. So, I made the deal with Carolina to trade Ethan for a top-nine forward in Warren Foegele.”
  • A Markham, Ont., product, Foegele was skating with other NHL players in Toronto when the trade came down shortly after the free-agency period began Wednesday. Players such as Connor McDavid, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman and Devin Shore, who are all from the Greater Toronto Area, suddenly became teammates.
    • “Once I made the decision to sign Ceci, and re-sign Barrie, we had a defenceman to trade and I wanted to get a forward that could play left-wing and get in on the forecheck,” Holland said. “Has good speed, he’s big and strong, and I was just trying to get a little bit deeper up front.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I love that Holland is transforming his team from a rush team to a work and grind one. He’s bringing in players with extremely high work rates on and off the ice and honestly, he’s going to make his young prospects truly earn their spots on the team. 

With Warren Foegele, I don’t think a lot of people know this but his middle name is Beatty. I’m just kidding, I have no idea what his middle name is, but I do know that from 2018-19 to today, he’s drawn the 39th most penalties in the league and from a per 60 rate over that time, he’s 19th overall drawing 1.32 penalties per game. Connor McDavid is 45th in penalties drawn per 60 (1.18). 

So, if he can keep baiting the opposition into penalties, the Oilers can continue punishing them on the PP.

The other thing I like about him is how dangerous he is from the slot and the blue paint. This is where he scores all of his goals because he’s willing to put his head down and get in the muck to do what it takes and that’s what I’ve been saying that this team lacks. 

Briefly on Cody Ceci. How great is it that there are players who are reaching out to the Oilers to tell them they WANT to play in Edmonton? For decades this organization has suffered in this aspect due to location, quality of team, arena, you name it and if I’m being completely honest, I think they’ll continue to be backup choices because of some of those things, but in the now, better players are CHOOSING to sign with the Oilers and that bodes well for future offseasons.

Sportsnet (Mike Kelly)

Analyzing what Zach Hyman brings to the Edmonton Oilers
  • Regardless of where Hyman plays in the Oilers’ top-six, he will fit like a glove and make his linemates better — just like he did alongside Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews the past two years in Toronto.
  • At a per 60-minute rate, Hyman averaged 2:05 of offensive zone puck possession time at even-strength. That’s time spent with the puck on his stick in the attacking end. Hyman ranked 19th among 396 qualified forwards in this stat and his comparables were Brad Marchand and Mark Scheifele.
  • Hyman is more than a ‘grinder’ whose purpose on a scoring line is to do grunt work for more talented players. He’s a bonafide top-six forward capable of pulling his weight offensively. Hyman is also an effective puck mover, ranking top-50 among all forwards in controlled zone exits and entries at even-strength.
  • Hyman is still one of the best in the league at generating shots from the most high-danger scoring area on the ice, the inner slot. Hyman ranked second league-wide to Auston Matthews last season, averaging four inner slot shots per 60 minutes at even strength.
  • Defensively, Hyman doesn’t impact the game at a high rate at even strength.
  • Last season, the Maple Leafs had an expected goal rate of 62.9 per cent with Hyman on the ice. Only five forwards were better: Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and Patrice Bergeron.
  • Hyman’s expected goals against per 60 minutes was 2.16, which ranked 88th among all forwards.
  • When Hyman is on the ice, his team controls the play. They dominate offensively and are above average defensively. There just isn’t any available data to suggest Hyman is a driver of defensive success.
  • While he may not come out of a battle with the puck as often as other forwards, being as involved as Hyman is in this area of the game provides several benefits to his team. It allows for teammates to engage in the battle and recover the puck. It disrupts breakouts and forces the opposition to spend more time and effort attempting to exit the defensive zone. It also forces opposing teams into mistakes.
  • He has top-six skill and a grinder’s work ethic. Hyman’s current career-highs in goals and points sit at 21 and 41, respectively. Expect him to beat both of those totals next season.

BLH’s Thoughts: Don’t you wish you had access to some of these private metrics so that you could judge players more fairly?

I’m sorry, I can’t remember who said it, but last week on Oilers Now, one of Bob Stauffer’s guests (maybe John Shannon) was saying how good Hyman is defensively because he’s got a motor that never stops and his tenaciousness on the backcheck is unrivaled. Was it Craig Button that compared him to Jere Lehtinen?… 

I’m going to say that Hyman hits 50pts next season and splits his goals and assists pretty evenly. What kind of production do you think he’ll put up?

NHLRumors.com

Bob McKenzie: Justin Abdelkader is looking to return to the NHL next season after spending last season in the Swiss League. He’ll be getting $1 million a year for the next five years from the Detroit Red Wings.

Adrian Dater: Have heard the New York Rangers really want to find a way to trade for Jack Eichel.

Larry Brooks: “In one corner: Zibanejad at $10M (plus?) for seven years starting at age 29. In the other: Eichel at $10M for five years starting at age 25, immediate health concerns, plus the cost of acquisition.”

NHL Watcher: Pierre LeBrun said on TSN that the Montreal Canadiens had tried to trade for Rasmus Ristolainen but their first-round pick wasn’t high enough.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Was the Ethan Bear Trade Simply a “Hockey Trade”?

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

Give us a follow on the socials!

Edmonton Sun (Jim Matheson)

Zach Hyman is exactly what was missing in the Edmonton Oilers top-six
  • The book on him, if you’re a member of Oiler Nation, is he’s hockey’s pre-eminent worker bee.
  • His game is blue-collar where there are no days off, which is exactly what Edmonton general manager Ken Holland is now paying him $38.5 million over the next seven years for. To be the dirt road player beside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whichever centre the left-winger winds up with.
  • He is the 2021 version of the mulletted Ryan Smyth; works the boards, gets it to the net, takes a couple of cross-checks, keeps on smiling and supports the stars.
  • “His greatest trait is his compete. He’s a forechecker, he’s relentless, he’s on the puck,” said Holland. “We needed, along with the addition of Warren Foegele, forwards who can try to create more pressure in the offensive zone. We don’t want to be just a rush team.”

BLH’s Thoughts: That part about not wanting just to be a rush team is telling. The Oilers feel like their game became easy to pick apart as most of the offense created was off the rush last season. So they picked up a couple of LWers who are known for their forechecking abilities in an effort to be able to beat teams in a different manner. 

This reminds me of something Kevin Weekes said a little while ago. He was talking about the great Oilers teams of the past and the one thing those clubs had was a bit of bulldog throughout the roster. Ken Holland addressed this team’s lack of physical assertiveness yesterday when he added Foegele and Hyman on the club’s LW and I don’t think he’s done either.

The Athletic (Daniel Nugent-Bowman)

Ethan Bear on being traded, his time with the Oilers and ‘looking forward’ to opportunity in Carolina: Q&A
  • Do you feel like it’s a sour way to end your time in Edmonton given what you had to endure at the end of the playoffs with the racist comments directed your way
    • Yeah. You look around at Canadian markets and fan bases are really involved, which is awesome. It was something very tough that I had to experience after the playoffs. That’s not something any person or player wants to go through. I’m sorry about that. With the organization, it’s nothing they can control. I thought I handled it well. I’m happy to move on from that and get a new opportunity in a new city.
  • What’s the plan for the rest of the offseason? Are you going to try to get down there soon or wait until September?
    • I haven’t quite figured out all those details yet. Kelowna (B.C., where he typically spends time in the offseason) is a good option for me. I’ll see what they have in terms of training and skating coaches in Carolina. That’s something to figure out at a later date.
  • It seemed like you were part of the building process here in Edmonton. Is it disappointing to leave that behind?
    • No, I wouldn’t see it that way. This is a stepping stone in my career. Wherever I go, I’m going to keep building. I’m just trying to represent myself and my team professionally and win some games. I’m not worried about leaving here and what’s in the past. I’m more just looking forward to what’s in store in the future.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bear trained in Kelowna last summer and then came to camp in less than ideal form, which bit him in the ass I feel. Now, if he wanted to change that for this upcoming season, why wouldn’t he stay in Edmonton and train with Turris and that crew or head to Ontario and get together with McDavid’s group? Seems odd, but maybe he felt that getting out of Alberta and Edmonton in general was a better plan. 

I find it quite interesting that Bear is “happy to move on” and that he isn’t worried about leaving Edmonton. More often than not, players are a tad emotional about having to leave the team that drafted them unless something unfortunate has happened. 

So, here’s the thing, I was told late last night that Ken Holland was doing Bear a favor by trading him. I’m not going to say Ethan requested a trade but I’m not going to say he didn’t request one either.

What was passed on to me is that all the abuse he and his loved ones received after the loss in game four against Winnipeg was much more serious than what the media released. 

I don’t think that Ken Holland wanted to trade Bear and he was willing to go into next season with Barrie, Bouchard, and Ethan on the right-side and at least give the three a go but his hand was forced to an extent. He knew how much the young man meant to the fanbase and the team and it wasn’t an easy decision to make. 

As harsh as I may sound when I get into Bear’s metrics and ability versus another player, I wish him the best of luck in Carolina and I know he’s going to kill it down there. It’s a beautiful part of America and he’s definitely going to have the time of his life playing on that team. 

Cult of Hockey

Edmonton Oilers sign veteran centre Derek Ryan… DURING Ken Holland’s media avail
  • After nearly twenty years of continuous improvement as evidenced annually by either increased production or graduation to a tougher league, Ryan finally showed signs of erosion in 2021. He scored just 2-11-13 but a solid +6 in 43 games with Calgary Flames, missing 13 games with a fractured finger and seeing his ice time cut back to about 12 minutes a night. The takeaway is that he more readily projects as a 4C than 3C at this stage of his remarkable career, but still very much an NHL-calibre player.
  • The 5’10 right-shot pivot is a whiz on the faceoff dot with a career success rate over 55%, a history of mid-range scoring (four seasons of double digit goals), and capacity to play both special teams, checking a lot of boxes for “bottom-six centre” in the process. He’s a modern version of Mark Letestu, who was a pretty useful depth centre for Edmonton a few years back.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m with Bruce on this one, I think Ryan will be much more of a 4C than a 3C. That said, I wonder if he and Ryan McLeod split the TOI and then Connor, Leon, and Nuge take on some extra minutes depending on the game state.

Check out this tidbit from Jonathan Willis:

  • Derek Ryan rank among Calgary forwards last season:
    • 5v5 TOI: 12th
      5v5 P/60: T-6th
      5v5 CF%: 1st
      5v5 SF%: 1st
      5v5 GF%: 1st
      5v5 xGF%: 1st

One of Edmonton’s weaknesses last year was that it’s bottom-six was where offense went to die (basically) and if this is one attempt at cauterizing that wound, I dig it. I love the contract, I love Ryan’s ability on the dot, and I’m very excited to see what he can do for this team, I’m just fearful of another Kyle Turris scenario. 

NHLRumors.com

David Pagnotta: The Los Angeles Kings are looking for a top-six forward. Brandon Saad is one free agent they will look at.

Ryan Kennedy: Have heard that the Buffalo Sabres have asked the Vegas Golden Knights for Reilly Smith, Peyton Krebs, Nic Hague and a first-round pick for Jack Eichel.

Bruce Garrioch: The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to trade defenseman Calvin de Haan.

Michael Russo: The Minnesota Wild need to find a couple of defensemen. If they can’t find anything on the free agent market, they have to look at the trade market.

This is how Pavel used to tell you who was #1 back in the day! Click the pic and grab a shirt or a mask!

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Was the Ethan Bear Trade Simply a “Hockey Trade”?

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

Give us a follow on the socials!

Edmonton Sun (Jim Matheson)

Zach Hyman is exactly what was missing in the Edmonton Oilers top-six
  • The book on him, if you’re a member of Oiler Nation, is he’s hockey’s pre-eminent worker bee.
  • His game is blue-collar where there are no days off, which is exactly what Edmonton general manager Ken Holland is now paying him $38.5 million over the next seven years for. To be the dirt road player beside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whichever centre the left-winger winds up with.
  • He is the 2021 version of the mulletted Ryan Smyth; works the boards, gets it to the net, takes a couple of cross-checks, keeps on smiling and supports the stars.
  • “His greatest trait is his compete. He’s a forechecker, he’s relentless, he’s on the puck,” said Holland. “We needed, along with the addition of Warren Foegele, forwards who can try to create more pressure in the offensive zone. We don’t want to be just a rush team.”

BLH’s Thoughts: That part about not wanting just to be a rush team is telling. The Oilers feel like their game became easy to pick apart as most of the offense created was off the rush last season. So they picked up a couple of LWers who are known for their forechecking abilities in an effort to be able to beat teams in a different manner. 

This reminds me of something Kevin Weekes said a little while ago. He was talking about the great Oilers teams of the past and the one thing those clubs had was a bit of bulldog throughout the roster. Ken Holland addressed this team’s lack of physical assertiveness yesterday when he added Foegele and Hyman on the club’s LW and I don’t think he’s done either.

The Athletic (Daniel Nugent-Bowman)

Ethan Bear on being traded, his time with the Oilers and ‘looking forward’ to opportunity in Carolina: Q&A
  • Do you feel like it’s a sour way to end your time in Edmonton given what you had to endure at the end of the playoffs with the racist comments directed your way
    • Yeah. You look around at Canadian markets and fan bases are really involved, which is awesome. It was something very tough that I had to experience after the playoffs. That’s not something any person or player wants to go through. I’m sorry about that. With the organization, it’s nothing they can control. I thought I handled it well. I’m happy to move on from that and get a new opportunity in a new city.
  • What’s the plan for the rest of the offseason? Are you going to try to get down there soon or wait until September?
    • I haven’t quite figured out all those details yet. Kelowna (B.C., where he typically spends time in the offseason) is a good option for me. I’ll see what they have in terms of training and skating coaches in Carolina. That’s something to figure out at a later date.
  • It seemed like you were part of the building process here in Edmonton. Is it disappointing to leave that behind?
    • No, I wouldn’t see it that way. This is a stepping stone in my career. Wherever I go, I’m going to keep building. I’m just trying to represent myself and my team professionally and win some games. I’m not worried about leaving here and what’s in the past. I’m more just looking forward to what’s in store in the future.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bear trained in Kelowna last summer and then came to camp in less than ideal form, which bit him in the ass I feel. Now, if he wanted to change that for this upcoming season, why wouldn’t he stay in Edmonton and train with Turris and that crew or head to Ontario and get together with McDavid’s group? Seems odd, but maybe he felt that getting out of Alberta and Edmonton in general was a better plan. 

I find it quite interesting that Bear is “happy to move on” and that he isn’t worried about leaving Edmonton. More often than not, players are a tad emotional about having to leave the team that drafted them unless something unfortunate has happened. 

So, here’s the thing, I was told late last night that Ken Holland was doing Bear a favor by trading him. I’m not going to say Ethan requested a trade but I’m not going to say he didn’t request one either.

What was passed on to me is that all the abuse he and his loved ones received after the loss in game four against Winnipeg was much more serious than what the media released. 

I don’t think that Ken Holland wanted to trade Bear and he was willing to go into next season with Barrie, Bouchard, and Ethan on the right-side and at least give the three a go but his hand was forced to an extent. He knew how much the young man meant to the fanbase and the team and it wasn’t an easy decision to make. 

As harsh as I may sound when I get into Bear’s metrics and ability versus another player, I wish him the best of luck in Carolina and I know he’s going to kill it down there. It’s a beautiful part of America and he’s definitely going to have the time of his life playing on that team. 

Cult of Hockey

Edmonton Oilers sign veteran centre Derek Ryan… DURING Ken Holland’s media avail
  • After nearly twenty years of continuous improvement as evidenced annually by either increased production or graduation to a tougher league, Ryan finally showed signs of erosion in 2021. He scored just 2-11-13 but a solid +6 in 43 games with Calgary Flames, missing 13 games with a fractured finger and seeing his ice time cut back to about 12 minutes a night. The takeaway is that he more readily projects as a 4C than 3C at this stage of his remarkable career, but still very much an NHL-calibre player.
  • The 5’10 right-shot pivot is a whiz on the faceoff dot with a career success rate over 55%, a history of mid-range scoring (four seasons of double digit goals), and capacity to play both special teams, checking a lot of boxes for “bottom-six centre” in the process. He’s a modern version of Mark Letestu, who was a pretty useful depth centre for Edmonton a few years back.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m with Bruce on this one, I think Ryan will be much more of a 4C than a 3C. That said, I wonder if he and Ryan McLeod split the TOI and then Connor, Leon, and Nuge take on some extra minutes depending on the game state.

Check out this tidbit from Jonathan Willis:

  • Derek Ryan rank among Calgary forwards last season:
    • 5v5 TOI: 12th
      5v5 P/60: T-6th
      5v5 CF%: 1st
      5v5 SF%: 1st
      5v5 GF%: 1st
      5v5 xGF%: 1st

One of Edmonton’s weaknesses last year was that it’s bottom-six was where offense went to die (basically) and if this is one attempt at cauterizing that wound, I dig it. I love the contract, I love Ryan’s ability on the dot, and I’m very excited to see what he can do for this team, I’m just fearful of another Kyle Turris scenario. 

NHLRumors.com

David Pagnotta: The Los Angeles Kings are looking for a top-six forward. Brandon Saad is one free agent they will look at.

Ryan Kennedy: Have heard that the Buffalo Sabres have asked the Vegas Golden Knights for Reilly Smith, Peyton Krebs, Nic Hague and a first-round pick for Jack Eichel.

Bruce Garrioch: The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to trade defenseman Calvin de Haan.

Michael Russo: The Minnesota Wild need to find a couple of defensemen. If they can’t find anything on the free agent market, they have to look at the trade market.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Kuemper to Edmonton Rumors Growing Louder

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

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The Athletic (Daniel Nugent-Bowman)

Oilers buy out James Neal: How it eases cap issues and helps turn the page on past mistakes
  • When it comes to Neal’s payout, this isn’t about any type of Holland misstep. It isn’t even really about the performance of Neal, who was a couple of months shy of his 31st birthday when he signed a bloated contract with Calgary he never should have been offered… The criticism for this costly choice can be aimed at an egregious wrong — or wrongs — by Holland’s predecessor, Peter Chiarelli.
  • After buying out Neal, all Holland must do now is decide if — or how — he can ditch the last year of Koskinen’s contract. That will finish the job of washing his hands of past mistakes. That deal was Chiarelli’s parting gift, an unforced error, granted with a big assist from Bob Nicholson and the hockey operations department.
  • The Oilers have roughly $12.8 million in cap space after Neal’s buyout, according to CapFriendly. That total is fluid since the likes of Kyle Turris, Philip Broberg, William Lagesson, Mikko Koskinen and Alex Stalock are listed on the roster, as is Oscar Klefbom, who projects to start the season on long-term injured reserve. PuckPedia indicates the Oilers have $14.8 million in cap space if Turris is in the minors and Broberg isn’t on the roster.

BLH’s Thoughts: If I recall correctly, Bob Stauffer was saying the Oilers could go up to $85M on the cap and then put Klefbom on LTIR to become compliant. That means they should be able to play around with about $18M as things stand today and if Koskinen is moved for futures or considerations or bought out, that will increase. 

Ten of that $18M sounds like it’ll go to Tyson Barrie and Zach Hyman and Edmonton will still need to get another defenseman, left winger, and a third line center. Sounds bleak, right? Well, keep in mind there are trades being worked on as we speak.

Lowetide.ca

WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN’ GOING ON
  • The (Koskinen) trade route is going to require a sweetener, the Koskinen buyout makes no sense at all. The rumours running around town currently are fairly wild and include a complete turnover of the right side of the defense (only Evan Bouchard returning).
  • Pierre Lebrun has Edmonton interested in Darcy Kuemper, but the Koskinen contract needs to be offloaded first and that’s going to take a sweetener. Holland needs a sweetener and the media is telling you what is being contemplated. I’ve seen all kinds of rage directed at media members for mentioning specific names, but that’s them telling you what they’re hearing.
  • The Oilers are turning over a bunch of this roster in an effort to add experience and to improve overall quality and depth. I don’t believe trading any of the young players on the roster currently (Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Bear, McLeod) as those represent both the future and the bulk of the value deals. This is about to get interesting.

BLH’s Thoughts: Darryl Katz gave Bob Nicholson the green light to hire a GM who’s M.O. in his contender years with the Red Wings was to turn young players into proven NHLers in order to help them become champions. So I hope none of you are shocked when Holland starts moving promising young hockey players, prospects, and draft picks in order to improve the team in the now because that’s his bread and butter and he has decades of experience building perennial playoff contending teams. 

As for Kuemper, I thought earlier in the week that Edmonton’s interest had cooled but I was wrong. Quite the opposite it seems now. I’m curious to see if the Oilers end up sending Koskinen, Bear, and another pick or prospect to Arizona for the Coyotes’ netminder. 

Cult of Hockey

Ken Holland’s greatest challenge right now? Replacing critical “one-for-one” defensive ace
  • For the first time since Andrej Sekera was fully fit and healthy in 2016-17 the Oilers have a true No. 1 d-man in Darnell Nurse, with an opportunity this summer to lock up Nurse long-term.
  • What Edmonton doesn’t have are other d-men who are sure things in the Top 4.
  • It’s Nurse at No. 1, then an endless number of question marks.
  • Help is coming soon and help is coming in numbers, but to compete this year Edmonton needs to fill Larsson’s spot, preferably with a cycle-busting, shut-down d-man.
  • On Oilers Now, host Bob Stauffer mentioned a number of candidates including puck mover Tyson Barrie and shut-down types Travis Hamonic and Jari Hakanpaa.
  • If Barrie were to re-sign in Edmonton — and he’s looking for at least three years at $5 million per year according to the well-connected Stauffer — an alternative plan might be to bring in a cycle-busting d-man on the left side.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Oilers are going to have to make due for a few seasons while Bouchard, Broberg, and Samorukov transition to the NHL. One might be inclined to say that process will take upwards of three years, but I think these three defensemen are really special and I could see at least two of the trio being regulars on the team by 2023 and Edmonton’s top-four set for the next decade. 

Now, hopefully Ken Holland’s work this summer has him signing veterans on 1-3yr terms (maximum) in order to lessen the risk of blocking one or all three. 

NHLRumors.com

(By the time you read these, most of them are going to be obsolete. So just keep that in mind. Thank you! – BLH)

Kevin Paul Dupont: Zdeno Chara is back in Europe right now and he hasn’t decided if he’s going to play next season or not.

John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor: The Los Angeles Kings are close to signing a new deal with Andreas Athanasiou and it should be done soon.

Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic: Both the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders are interested in free agent Ryan Suter… The Bruins could offer Suter top pairing minutes beside Charlie McAvoy.

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic: The tragic passing of Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks has changed their goaltending plans for this offseason. Their plan had been to trade one of Joonas Korpisalo or Elvis Merzlikins but now they are both likely to be back next season.

Ben Pope: The acquisition of Fleury likely means that Nikita Zadorov or Calvin de Haan are likely done in Chicago.

Pierre LeBrun: With the Vancouver Canucks buying out the final year of Braden Holtby‘s contract, they need a back up goaltender and could have Jaroslav Halak on their short-list of targets.

Ryan Rishaug: What happens with Dougie Hamilton affects who could be interested in Barrie.

Max Bultman of The Athletic: The Detroit Red Wings are likely still looking to add a left-handed defenseman.

Sheng Peng: San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson said they are looking for a third or fourth-line winger, a third-line center, a goalie and a veteran defenseman that can play some tough minutes.

Bob McKenzie: Arizona Coyotes forward Michael Bunting is a Group VI free agent. The Toronto Maple Leafs are among the interested teams. Bunting played Junior with the Soo Greyhounds under Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe.

Bob McKenzie: “CHI’s leverage here is that it could absorb MAF’s full cap hit and the Hawks were NOT on MAF’s 10-team no-trade list. So, given that MAF did NOT want to play anywhere other than VGK, here’s a question: Will he report to the Hawks? Or, at age 36, might he contemplate retirement?”

Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Arizona Coyotes Darcy Kuemper would be a good option for the Edmonton Oilers to pair with Mike Smith.

The Oilers wouldn’t want to give up much for a rental player but Kuemper may be worth it. They could quickly try to sign him to a contract extension.

This is how Pavel used to tell you who was #1 back in the day! Click the pic and grab a shirt or a mask!

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